WNBA: Minnesota Lynx – The Training Camp Diaries, Day Four

I decided that it would be a lot more fun to spend the Minnesota Lynx Media Day in the service department waiting room at the dealership than at the Target Center. However, inspiration for diary-writing manifests in all sorts of manners and in the strangest locations, so with this unwanted break in the action, I took advantage of it.

Aside from missing the cleverly staged photos, the abundant energy from the players, some of whom, sadly, might only wear the uniform for a few more days, and the overall feeling of anticipation for Friday’s game, I quickly realized that I didn’t really miss much. Once again, the similarity between Media Day and the obligatory photo call for a play about to open is remarkable. Actors, for the most part, would rather be rehearsing and not lose precious time to work on a show that is going to open in a few days.

It is quite possible that athletes would rather be practicing and learning because, for some, their livelihood depends upon it. Of course, for actors, if you’re at a photo call, you’ve had the job for quite a while. Not so for athletes. I suspect that there may be an underlying anxiety, even for the vets, that they need this time for basketball. It is, however, a necessary evil, and must be endured. I suppose what I missed out on was an entertaining assemblage of game faces.

How Shakespeare is Comparable to an Athlete’s Career

I wonder how much time fans think about the players on their favorite team as simply people. To quote Shakespeare’s Richard II:

“Cover your heads, and mock not flesh and blood with solemn reverence: throw away respect, tradition, form, and ceremonious duty, for you have but mistook me all this while: I live with bread like you, feel want, taste grief, need friends: subjected thus, how can you say to me I am a king?”

Richard II, Act Three, Scene Two

You can replace “king” with “baller” quite easily here, and it makes a lot of sense. The fragility of a career as an athlete, which, as we all know, is quite finite, is often something that we as fans do not fully embrace. Often we would like to think that we know them. We do not and not know what we see on the court, in interviews, or on social media, but when the camera stops filming, the computer goes dark, and TikTok stops ticking, who are they?